Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Black Lives Matter

In thanksgiving for the
life and work of Julian Bond, who tired of hearing “If only they were all like
you.” It reminds me of often hearing from those opposed to LGBT ordination, “But
we would ordain you!”

“Black
lives matter” is not just wisdom for protesting “issues” of law enforcement. It
should be a mantra for all of life.

Black
lives matter when there is equal access to prenatal and postnatal care,
preschool, decent housing and nutrition, education, healthcare, employment, promotions,
advancement, economic opportunities, voting rights, justice in the courts,
representation on school boards, law enforcement agencies, city councils, state legislatures, congress,
corporate boards, and executive positions in business and government—to name
some of the things routinely denied.

A
pet peeve of mine has been to see black people cast in incidental roles in movies and TV programs (how many black judges can there be?) rather than seeing
their characters integrally woven into an ensemble cast, though this has
been changing in recent years.

I
once worked with a progressive but all-white group who would have agreed that
all of the above are examples of institutional racism, and whose members said
they wanted to do something about it. But a colleague who had worked with the
group far longer than I told me privately, “They all want to address the issue
of racism politically, but few, if
any, actually have black friends.”

The
person observed that institutional racism will only be dismantled as we take
racism personally, when black lives
matter in our own friendships, families, congregations, work places, working
relationships, and social networks.

A
white police officer testifying in the O.J. Simpson trial was asked if he was a
racist, and he said “no.” I was astounded. I don’t know how any white person in
the United States can say they have avoided being taught prejudice to some
degree. And we all benefit from white privilege, just as our white ancestors
(and not just slaveholders) benefited from black slavery.

I
believe our society survives partly because it is graced with the fortitude and
forgiveness and sometimes generational forgetfulness of the minorities it has
wronged. And most amazing to me are the descendants of slaves who were “owned,”
brutalized, raped, and lynched. How can they stand our uppity white domination?

How
can they stand the undue influence of angry and mean folk trying to undo what
progress has been made in redressing past sins?

Those
who forgave the deadly, racist shooter in the Charleston church were as Christ
to me. Their grace exposed the racism of those who held onto the confederate
flag as a way of life. Their grace transformed parts of the country that seemed
irredeemable.

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ABOUT CHRIS...

Chris Glaser has a ministry of writing and speaking. Since graduation from Yale Divinity School in 1977, Chris has served in a variety of parish, campus, editorial, and interim posts. He has spoken to hundreds of congregations, campuses, and communities throughout the U.S. and Canada, and published a dozen best-selling books on spirituality, sexuality, vocation, contemplation, scripture, sacrament, theology, marriage, and death.